Coupling for hay-loaders.



No. 644,338. Patented Feb, 27, I900.

S. A. SLAUSON.

COUPLING FOR HAY LUADERS.

(Application filed Oct. 7, 1399.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES: IN VENTOH.

A TTOHN E VJ.

No. 644,338. Patented Feb. 27, I900. S. A. SLAUSON.

COUPLING FOR HAY LOADERS.

(Application filed Oct. 7, 1899.)

2 Sheeis-Shaat 2,

(No Model.)

WITNESSES:

//v VENTO/i! A TTORNEYJ.

rvrrn Stains STEPHEN A. SLAUSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CDUPLING; FOR HAY-LOADERS.

j SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent N 0. 844,338, datedFebruary 27, 15900.

' Application filed ctoher7, 1899. Serialllo. 732,942. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. Snu'sox,

' a citizen of the United States, residingat Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illim nois, have invented certain 11 w and useful Improvements in Couplings for Hay-Loaders;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the is to art to which it appertains to make and use the is same.

My invention relates to a coupling device designed, primarily, for the purpose of coupling a hay-loader to the ordinary haulingi 5 Wagon; and it consists of certain novel feaapplication two modifi coupling device, it will be understood that various other modifications thereof maybe em- Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, showing the same removed from the tongue of the loader. Fig. 3 is a side view showing another form of y improved coupling device. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of that portion of the coupling device attached to the hay-rack. Fig. 5 is a locking-pin designed to hold the securing-device proper in its adjusted position.

Fig. 6 a detail of the securingdiook, while Fig. 7 an end view of thc receivingaws shown in Fig. 3.

While 1511311 illustrateanddescribe in this 'ations of myimproved tures of combination and of construction of ployed without departing from the spirit of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

It will be understood that ahay-ioading machine of the usual or any preferred construction is coupled to the rear end of the hayv wagon in such a way that thehay-loading mechanism will be held in contact with the myinvention, and I therefore desire to comprehend in this application the substantial equivalent of the construction presented, inasmuch as various changes may be made in the several parts without materially departingfrom my ideas.

It will be borne in mind that there are certain varieties of' hay-loaders the mechanism surface of the ground,and thereby enable the of which is held to its work by means of a same to take up the hay and elevate it to the top of the wagomwthere it is received by the driver and properly placed in position upon the hay-rack. It is therefore obvious that it 3,0 becomes desirable that the hay-loading mechsprin'g extending from the upper end downward to the tongue, while other varieties of loadersentirely d pense with such device, the tongue being held up by a supporting-leg. My improved coupling device illustrated in .anismshall be so disposed thatit-will gather Fig. 3 is designed tobe used in connection all of the hay or straw without regard to the irregularities of the surface of the soil over which it'is drawn. It therefore becomes dewith the former construction, while that form of device illustrated in Figs. 1 and? may be satisfactorily employed in connection with 3,5 sirable to provide mechanism in addition to the loader having its tongue supported by a the coupling device which will hold the hayleg;

loading machine proper reliably to its work while passing over rough as well as overa smoothsurface.

4o The prime object, therefore, of my inven-.

. tion is not only to enable .the hay-loading" mechanism proper to be prom tly connected to or disconnected from the auling-Wagon,

but that such coupling shall be so edected 5 that the loading Inechanismwili be held reliably to its work, and therebyeuabled to gather all of the hay over which it is drawn.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is v a side view of my improved coupling device andshowinga section of the tongue of t e l" ay-leader part of the haywaci: betweaii which the eohpiing device proper is disposed.

In order to conveniently designate the several parts of my invention and their coopersting accessories, numerals will be employed,

of which 1 indicates the end of the tongue of allay-loader, to which I secure the body We tion 2 of my improved coupling device by means of the bolts 3, it being understood that integral side flanges 4'sh0uld be provided upon said body portion between which the end of the tongue is more reliably held. portion is provided at its forward end with a downwardly-extending jaw 5, having the inclined" lip or face 6, while the upper side of saidbody portion is provided with the upweirdly-directed iaw 7 (of longer extent in Fig. 1 than in Fig.3) having the inclined face 8,

The body the faces 6 and 8 converging toward each other and terminating in the recess which is tapered latcrallyand rearwardly to provide the guiding-faces 10, designed to engage one of the branches 11 or v12 of the bracket carried by the hay-rack and comprising the anchoring-sections 13 and the cross-section. 1i, thelatter provided with the central extension 15, designed to act directly upon the upper end 16 ot the hook 17, which, aswill be seen by reference to Fig. 3, is pivotally mounted upon the bolt 18 within the central verticallydisposed recess 19, provided in the body portion near the point where the jaws (i and 8 unite therewith. The recess 19 is of sufficient extent to permit the section 16 of the hook17 to stand in a vertical position in orderthat it may be secured in a locked position by means, of the locking pin or de'tent 20, which is loosely received in asuitable aperture provided in the enlargement or bracket 21, formed in the base of the jaw 7 upon the upper side of the body portion 2.

The object of the inclined face 8 is to lift the tongue of the hay-loader from the ground, and in so doing it com resses the spring 38, while, on the other hand should the loader be of that variety having a log it will raise the leg clear from the ground, inasmuch as such 'face will receive and guide the crosls-section into the seat S), audthereby bring it into contact with the outer face of the stem 16, causing said stem to move backward into'a vertical position and incidentally raising the book 17 into engagement with said cross-section, and thereby secure the same whenthe pin 20 has been dropped downward in its seat, thus insuring that the lower end of said pin will engage the upper end of the stem 16 and hold the hook to its work until said pin has been withdrawn, which may readily be done by attaching a cord 22 to the aperture In order to prevent the entire Withdrawal ot the pin :30, a suitable shoulder 2 may be formed thereon at a proper point to give said pin the requisite play fordisengag ng its lower end with the extreme upper end of the stem 16, said shoulder2lbeingdesigned to prevent the entire withdrawal of said pin.

it will be understood that the extent or length of the jaw 7 may be determined by the required distance which the tongue of the loader is to he lifted, it being understood that the object of the 131001; 27..is to dispose the per jaw in the bracket 13 at the same or average height from the ground on all. wagons whctherhigh or low. Thus the cross-section 14 will strike the upsauie place whether on a high or a low wagon and raise the tongue, and thus always give the spring the same tension.

The brackets 13 may be disposed directly upon the. end section 25 of the hay-rack and V secured'thereto by the bolts 26, or a block 27,

may be interposed between said brackets and) end section, if the wagon islow. If, how ever, the wagon is of more than the usual height, the section27 may be disposed upon being designed especially for'nse in connection with a hay-loaderemploying a leg to support the tongue thereof, I will now call attention to another form of construction, (illustrated in Fig. 3,) wherein it will be seen that the hook 1 7 is normally held downward by means of the rod 29, controlled by the spring 30, which in this instance is coiled around the stem 31 of the bolt 32, which latter isoperatively held in position by the brackets 33 and 34, secured to the under side of the body portion 2. The free end ot the belt or detent 32 is provided with the beveled terminal 35,

- which is designed to engage apertures or teeth 36, formed upon the rod 37, which is the usual means employed in hay-loaders wherein the tongue is supported other than by will be seen that the lower end of the rod37 terminates a short distance below the tongue through which it loosely passes, inasmuch as a suitable aperture is provided therein and l in the contiguous body portion 2. per end-of the rod 37m connected to the upper part of the loading-frame, and in order to cushion said frame upon the tongue I diepose the spring 38, the upper end of whichis connected in, any suitable way to said rod,

The .up-.,

while the lower and bears "upon the upper surface of the tongue or upon a washendisposed thereon;

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the couplingor union as having been made between the section 14 and the coupling. proper carried by (the tongue 1.], This position illustratesthe spring 30 hav ng beeirconti'acted by the rod 2!), one end of which is pivotally connectedto the book 17, while the opposite end isconnee-ted in anysuitable wayfas by means of a slot provided in the bolt,32, and it is obvious that when the retaining-pin 20 is withdrawnv from engagement with the stem 16 the hook 17 will'be instantly drawn downwardby the spring 30, thereby instantly forcing the bev eied end 35 into engagement with the conti nous ratchet 36 and incidentally releasing 'tli e section 14, and thus uncoupling theloader from the-wagon.

Owing to the several parts j ust described it is obviousthat the adjustment of the tension of the spring 38-will not be disturbed by the act of no coupling,,inasmuch as the detent or point 35 will instantly engage the. contiguous tooth upon the rod 37 and thus prevent the spring ,38 from elevating said rod'to an undue ex-- ltenhfit being understood that the prior 3d justment elf said rod and spring 38 shall'boso effected that the lower end of the loading intimate cooperation of the mechanism will be yieldingly held by said spring in engagement with the surface of the ground, thereby insuring that the field will be thoroughly cleaned.

It will be seen that I have provided a very efficient coupling appliance for hay-loaders, by which the same may be readily coupled or uncoupled from the hay-rack of the wagon, thus enabling the operator to instantly drop the tongue of said loader and leave it in the field when he has secured the full load. It is obvious that the same or another wagon may be quickly coupled onto said loader by simply drawing said parts together,when the cross-section 14 will engage the stem 16 of the hook 17 and force said steni backward until the pin 20 automatically drops downward into engagement therewith. As previously explained, the act of uncoupling the parts is readily effected bya slight pull upon the rope 22, which should extend upward to the top of the hay-loader and there secured at a convenient point.

By reference to Fig. 5 it will be observed that the pin or detent 20 is provided with a central recess 39, the upper surface of which is inclined, as indicated by the beveled face 40, the object being to enable the free end of the stem 16 to be received by said recess, and thereby permit the beveled face 40 to ride freely upon the beveled end 41 of the stem 16, and thus prevent the pin from being very greatly withdrawn from its seat in order to lock said stem, and thereby hold the hook 17 in a locked position. In Fig. 1 the hook is held normally downward by its own weight, thus causing said hook to drop out of the way of section 14 the instant the pin 20 is withdrawn.

Believing that the construction and operation of my improved coupling device have been made fully apparent from the foregoing specification, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, I will dispense with further reference to the details thereof.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a coupling for hay-loaders, &c. a body portion and a pair of jaws secured thereto; a hook mounted within a recess in said jaws; a spring-controlled rod having teeth passing through said body a spring-controlled bolt normally engaging said teeth and a rod connecting said hook and bolt, all combined as set forth.

2. In a coupling for hay-loaders, the combination with the tongue having a spring-controlled rod, of a pair of open jaws secured to said tongue; a hook mounted in said jaws; a locking-bolt having a spring, said locking-bolt being connected with said hook and designed to hold the same normally open and a detent formed on said bolt adapted to engage said rod and secure the same against movement at the instant said hook is released, as specified and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a coupling for hay-loaders or the like, a body portion having a pair of divergent jaws; a hook cooperating with said jaws; a bolt and means to connect said bolt and hook with each other; a rod passing through said body and provided with a series of teeth or apertures and a spring designed to hold said bolt normally in engagement with said rod and also hold said hook in an open position and a pin adapted to cooperate with said hook and automatically engage and secure it in a closed position until said pin is withdrawn, all combined in the manner specified and for the purpose set forth.

4:. The herein-described coupling device for hay-loaders comprising a pair of rigid divergent jaws having guiding faces; a hook mounted in said jaws; a rod having teeth; a bolt and a spring adapted to hold it against said rod; means to connect said hook with said bolt in combination with a securing-pin having a bifurcated end adapted to straddle the free end of said hook and secure the hook in a closed position until withdrawn substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a coupling for hay-loaders or the like, a body portion and a pair of divergent jaws secured thereto; a hooking member having a hook-section proper 17 and stem 16, operatively mounted in a recess provided near the meeting-point of said jaws, in combination with a locking-pin 20 fitting an aperture in said jaws and having a recess 39 and a beveled face designed to engage the stem 16 and thereby hold the hook in an open position until said pin is withdrawn, all substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN A. SLAUSON. Witnesses:

AUGUST SHAEFER, ERNST S'rooK, Jr. 

